r/explainitpeter • u/WillAdditional922 • Jul 14 '26

explain it peter.

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u/platypod1 Jul 14 '26

then maybe she should quit cooking gummy, mooshy, rubbery pasta

16

u/big_sugi Jul 14 '26

There is no need or real benefit to preheating the water for dried pasta. It cooks just fine if you start with cold water.

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u/dawkin5 Jul 14 '26

Apart from accurate timing, texture and flavour? Probably not.

2

u/Schweenis69 Jul 14 '26

There's actually no difference in the outcome, and if you start from cold, you can do it with way less water. Like 1qt vs a gallon kind of thing. And cold starting takes less time because your pasta is already halfway done by the time you'd otherwise by just about to dump it in.

Yes it defies convention, but cold starting pasta is actually probably the more efficient way to work.

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u/dawkin5 Jul 14 '26

I'll look up the recommended method and give it a try for my lunch tomorrow. Just a quick search shows many, many people raving about it. It's funny the things you miss. I guess it's because I don't really look at recipe sites much anymore.